S&P 500 HITS ALL-TIME HIGH AS FEARS EASE

Index rises 10% in first quarter; Dow and Nasdaq also post gains

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose to an all-time high Thursday in New York, wiping out losses from the financial crisis, as economic growth slowed less than previously estimated and concern about Europe’s debt crisis eased.

Investors also are looking to get into equities as the first quarter came to a close.

The S&P 500 recorded a quarterly advance of 10 percent, its best performance in a year, with the bull market in March beginning a fifth year, supported by easy monetary policy by the Federal Reserve and other central banks. The gauge rose 10 percent for the quarter, its best performance in a year. It remains below an all-time intraday high of 1,576.09.

“Share prices are validating what has already come through in the form of corporate profits — they are at all-time highs,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.

The bull market rally is extending beyond the average length of bull markets, according to Birinyi Associates data that show cycles since 1962 have an average duration of four years. Of nine advances, four have lasted longer than the mean and the market rose for about six years during those periods.

Shares of American companies are rallying as their profits expand for a third straight year and the Federal Reserve has pumped more than $2.3 trillion into the economy through monetary easing since 2008, sending Treasury yields to record lows last year.

“It’s all the rage to talk about how it’s Fed-induced, and clearly the Fed has played a role in (the stock market’s) recovery, but we’re at 14 times forward earnings now, and that is not all that unreasonable,” Luschini said, referring to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy.

After climbing to a high of 1,570.28, the S&P 500 closed up 6.34 points, or 0.4 percent, at 1,569.19.

Investors offered little reaction to largely disappointing economic reports Thursday, which had fourth-quarter economic growth revised up to 0.4 percent from a previous estimate of 0.1 percent, weekly jobless claims up by 16,000, and a gauge of business activity in the Chicago region worse than expected.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 52.38 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,578.54. The blue-chip index, which first took out its 2007 record high on March 5, rose 11.3 percent in the first quarter. The Nasdaq composite added 11 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,267.52, leaving it up 8.2 percent for the quarter.